There’s an update on the Homekey Housing project slated for the Old Hospital building near Diamond View Middle School in Susanville.
The project had fallen off the radar after a contentious meeting where community members spoke out against it, concerned about impacting the area’s housing market and crime rates. Diamond View Middle School, whose western property line shares a border with the project, issued a written statement in opposition, stating “that this housing development could be a significant threat to our local youth if allowed to occur.” the school’s Administration feared the housing project slated to house youth experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, would expose students to “inevitable crime, drugs, alcohol, mental illness, and violence.”
The proposed Homekey Project is a partnership with the county and ColWest Investments to establish 15 housing units targeting those at risk of homelessness aged 18 to 25. Lassen County’s Housing and Grants Division representatives have said this can target many of the youth that have aged out of the foster system to veterans, as 5 of the units would be set aside to assist those outside of the age requirements but are still experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness.
County Administrative Officer Richard Egan said the board made a “clear and unanimous” decision to allow him to “proceed according to the direction in terms of execution of required documents.” Noting that only hinged on any intervention by the board.
Homekey is a state initiative To date, funding hundreds of millions of dollars towards some 250 projects statewide, including over 15,000 homes, housing more than 167,000 Californians, according to the Office of the Governor. It stemmed from the state’s Project Roomkey initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, engaging counties in addressing their homeless needs. Though CAO Egan remains skeptical, stating, “One thing is clear: the state designed Project Homekey to drag counties into it so that there’s somebody to clean up the mess. I think that’s clear- otherwise, we have no real reason to participate. The state could just engage with whoever they want to engage with.”
Egan went on to add he felt there was a risk in Homekey Projects adding “I think a lot of counties are going to end up eating it, and it may be different in other jurisdictions where they are looking at this in terms of they are paying for the problem already- housing people with vouchers in hotels and other means- and so even if it does cost them money maybe it’s less than it would have cost them by doing this project. But I think every situation is different.”
The supervisors took no action to change the course of the project, which has already been underway since early January and has a tight timeline to complete by March of next year.
